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Thomas, Pineda honored with 2012 McCoy Award

Thomas, Pineda honored with 2012 McCoy Award

March 13, 2012

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Gymnast Miguel Pineda and swimmer Erin Thomas have been selected as the 2012 recipients of the Ernest B. McCoy Memorial Award.The McCoy Award is presented annually to one senior male and one senior female student-athlete who have combined successful athletic participation with academic excellence. The award is named for the longtime dean of Penn State’s College of Physical Education, who also served as the University’s athletic director.

Pineda received All-America honors by tying for second place in the still rings during the 2011 National Collegiate Championships. He is a three-time CGA First Team All-American Scholar Athlete and a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recipient and was named to the 2011 Capital One Academic All-America Men's At-Large First Team. Also in 2011 he was named an NCAA Elite 88 award winner, which "recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers." A biology major in the Eberly College of Science, Pineda is from Galloway, Ohio.

During her swim career at Penn State, Thomas has helped set two school records -- in the 200-free style relay with a time of 1:29:64 and the 400-freestlye relay at 3:17:44. Both records were recorded at the 2011 Big Ten Championships. During her junior year, Thomas earned All-American honors in the 400-freestlye relay. A meteorology major from Bangor, Maine, Thomas was named to the Academic All-Big Ten in 2009-2010. She is one of seven swimmers representing Penn State March 15-17 at the 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming & Diving Championships in Auburn, Ala.